Future CEO Jon Steinberg interview | DC Thomson's moral imperative
All our reports from the Future of Media Technology conference
Good morning and welcome to your weekly Future of Media newsletter from Press Gazette on Thursday, 14 September, 2023, brought to you in association with Publisher Revenue Base Camp (held in Edinburgh on 1-4 October).
Today we celebrate the return of our Future of Media Explained podcast with a big CEO interview - Jon Steinberg of Future.
You can listen to our discussion here or read the highlights.
Steinberg still has a mountain to climb in terms of restoring Future’s market value to anything like its former heights. But the New York-born former president of Buzzfeed says that whatever the stock market may think, his team needs to keep the faith:
“If you put your uniform on the right way, if you do the work, if you show up at practice on time, if you answer the phone a certain way, the score takes care of itself.”
He also shares his thoughts on AI, digital subscriptions, affiliate marketing and how he tackled the challenge of stepping into the shoes of successful predecessor Zillah Byng-Thorne.
We also today share exclusive insight into some fundamental changes at DC Thomson which are philosophical as much as operational.
Chief brand officer Ella Dolphin explained how the publisher of titles ranging from Stylist and the Beano to the Press and Journal has reorganised around eight communities.
She explained why a sense of purpose, advocacy and giving something back to those communities has become a business imperative for the group.
You can check out all our coverage from last week’s Future of Media Technology conference here and in the links below.
New from Press Gazette:
Future CEO Jon Steinberg on AI, paywalls and why ‘high-intent’ media is resilient
“I do sometimes think, what would Zillah do? But most of the time, I like the Shakespeare line ‘to thine own self be true’ and I try to adhere to that.”
How DC Thomson turned community + purpose into a winning publishing formula
“The question of purpose has become fundamental to the growth of these communities because at some point not very far down the line we’re asking for an exchange, and that involves participation and a financial transaction.”
What else we learned at the Future of Media Technology conference 2023:
How ITN, Future, Bauer, AP and others are using generative AI
25 years on, live blogs top most-read lists for BBC, Guardian and Sky
How new technology at Daily Mail and Sun is growing digital revenues
The FT’s lessons for news publishers on how to reach more women
Ten major trends in news consumption publishers need to be thinking about
Audience growth: What publishers can learn from Tiktok and why social still matters
Best digital journalism products of past year revealed at the Future of Media Awards
From our sponsor
“Base Camp is the conference for publisher revenue leaders.
Over three days, we will convene to address critical issues, discuss valuable solutions to our most demanding challenges, identify growth opportunities, and build meaningful relationships with peers in the community.
Attendees will participate in collaborative sessions led by some of our industry's top thought leaders.
Session Provocateurs:
Rob Beeler, Founder & CEO, Beeler.Tech | Tom Bowman, Consulting Partner, CoLab Media Consulting | Gordon Eldret, Media Director, UK Circana | Lauren Faber, Head Of Business Operations, Roku Inc | Chris Kenna, Chairman & Founder, Brand Advance Group | Dora Michail-Clendinnen, Chief Strategy Officer, The Ozone Project | Richard Nicholson, Head of Dentsu Media Exchange, Dentsu | Mike Racic, President, Board Member, Prebid.
Are you interested in attending? Request an invite here today– this event is almost sold out.”
Our latest podcast
Is the future looking brighter for Future?
CEO of Future plc Jon Steinberg explains why he believes his company still has the right ingredients for success (whatever the stock market may currently seem to think).
He also talks about how he has tackled taking over from a highly successful predecessor, what he thinks about AI in publishing and how the company is just starting to generate revenue from digital subscriptions.
